There was a timelessness to the rolling hills of sand, one that made Shenzi feel as if she had lived here all her life, and yet everything was changed each morning, so that she woke before dawn with a thrill of excitement. What would she discover half-buried beneath the sands today? How would the sands present themselves to her today, with their sensual rising and falling ridges of sand. Thus far, she had largely roamed alone, finding solace in her solitude, but no longer did she lead Maslakhat on merry chases, rather, whenever their paths crossed, she greeted him warmly, and when they caught sight of one another from a distance, she’d dip her head low in acknowledgement, before continuing on her way.
Among the Dunes lived a number of mares whose bellies swelled with the promise of new life, and it was because of them that Shenzi held fast to her seclusion. Pregnant mares were vulnerable, and the foals when they were born would be even more so. And so, ever vigilant, Shenzi wandered the borders of her home, and watched the ocean horizon for any signs of approaching figures. Anyone unknown had the potential to be a threat, and it was not Shenzi’s nature to stand still.
There was another reason she sought isolation, one that had long gone unspoken. When the time was right, perhaps she’d speak of such things to Maslakhat, but for now, her heart was still raw from her griefs, ones that had been born to her on these islands, and the ones that had been killed in a land far from this place – a place that she would never lay eyes on again.
Collision’s arrival did not go unnoticed by the dark barb mare. Even as he drew nearer to the shore, her dark eyes glimmered with recognition, but she made no move to leave her lookout position from where she stood, half-hidden on the leeward side of a dune, the muscles in her legs protesting from maintaining her footing upon the steep angle and constantly shifting sand beneath her hooves.
Her ears flicked at the sound of Collision’s call, and made her way down the dune, hidden by the hill of sand. There was no doubt within her that Maslakhat would arrive promptly, if he wasn’t already aware of Collision’s arrival and heading to meet him.
Shenzi, ever a creature of the desert, weaved her way through the valleys of sand, alert to any signs of the golden bay Teke’s approach, and certain that Collision would not encroach any further into the Dunes and stumble upon her before she was ready to reveal herself. It was natural for her to be cautious, and did not mean her avoidance to be a reflection upon Collision any more than she’d meant it as a slight to Maslakhat.
But the last time she had seen him, he’d been going off to fight a war for brutes that viewed her as lesser for her gender. Collision himself had shown her consideration, but her treatment at the hands of those who were part of his brotherhood left much to be desired.
She could not know of Collision’s own hardships, and how he’d crossed paths with someone familiar to her. All Shenzi knew was that one of the bachelors had forcebred her, another had taken her freedom only to trade her away. Twice she had carried foals, and due to circumstances beyond her control, she’d lost them both.
(That her swim to Salem itself, so close to the birth of her second child, had likely contributed to her second loss was something that still burned in Shenzi’s heart. It was not Maslakhat that she blamed, but the ones who had part in her journey to the Dunes. Restitution. She would have it, just as Maslakhat had said she would. Soon… Someday soon.)
More than any other she’d met here, she trusted the judgement of the bay stallion who had by now met the bachelor upon their shore. And so, for now at least, she would linger at this distance, until she could be sure… In an effort to convey her intent to Maslakhat, she turned down a sandy gully and climbed the sloping dune, allowing only a glimpse of her ears and flyway mane & tail to be seen.
Many times she had revealed herself to Maslakhat in this manner, only to vanish ever deeper into the hills and valleys that were like a maze in their own way, disorienting even to dwellers of such places if they were not ever-vigilant.
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